Tag Archives: democracy

Search for a Strategy: Protest Plus

Posted on February 9, 2025 by David S. Meyer

The iconic image of a social movement is the mass demonstration, and American history is littered with plenty of them, representing causes, good and bad. Washington, DC is a magnet for mass demonstrations, and the Resistance to Trump I was … Continue reading →

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The Tennessee Three and what a win looks like (2)

Posted on April 13, 2023 by David S. Meyer

Now that Justin Pearson has (again) taken the oath of office, the Tennessee Three is reunited in the state House of Representatives. On Wednesday, the Shelby County Council voted on appointing an interim representative to replace the one who was … Continue reading →

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Expelling the Tennessee 3: Bad for democracy, bad politics. And not so good for “decorum.”

Posted on April 7, 2023 by David S. Meyer

The Republican Party had nothing to gain by voting to expel two Democratic state reps (Justin Jones and Justin Pearson), and just barely deciding not to expel a third (Gloria Johnson). The expulsions were about the dumbest thing the Republicans … Continue reading →

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Pushing protest outdoors in Tennessee

Posted on April 6, 2023 by David S. Meyer

Tennessee state representatives Tennessee State Representatives Justin Pearson, Justin Jones, and Gloria Johnson (l-r above) broke the rules. In the wake of the most a recent mass shooting at a Christian school in Nashville, protesters filled the chamber’s galleries and … Continue reading →

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Are the movements in Ukraine and Thailand democratic?

Posted on December 10, 2013 by David S. Meyer

I don’t know enough about these cases to say. Clifford Bob, who knows more than I do, writes with concerns: I just read your blogpost on Ukraine and Thailand.  I was struck by that juxtaposition today also.  But one thing … Continue reading →

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Social movements, governance, democracy, and Egypt

Posted on July 4, 2013 by David S. Meyer

What are we to make of the military coup that the military refuses to call a coup in Egypt?  I’m generally ready to cheer the departure of an unpopular putative theocrat, but quite suspicious of the military deposing elected officials … Continue reading →

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Recovery for Occupy Wall Street’s library

Posted on April 10, 2013 by David S. Meyer

In the weeks that Occupy Wall Street created a protest village in lower Manhattan, activists put together a lending library of more than 5,000 volumes.  When the police cleared the demonstrators out of Zuccotti Park, contractors hauled all of the … Continue reading →

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Template blinders: the where’s the movement question?

Posted on March 4, 2013 by David S. Meyer

Anti-austerity protests have reappeared across Southern Europe.  Citizens are taking to the streets to protest cuts in services and high unemployment.  Where’s the protest in the United States, where we are embarking on new cuts in government spending (call it … Continue reading →

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Is Occupy one?

Posted on September 16, 2012 by David S. Meyer

I mean: is Occupy now one year old?  Is it still around?  Is it unified? A year ago on September 17, the Occupation of Zuccotti Park began, with a beautiful poster and far less participation and promise than it soon … Continue reading →

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The value of truth

Posted on March 18, 2012 by David S. Meyer

I want to believe that telling the truth matters.  Advocates who have any belief in democracy as a value have to think that if people only knew what they know they’d agree.  Activists take on a public education job when … Continue reading →

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